GitHub Actions startup_failure with synthetic BuildFailed and zero jobs

[mindos-dev]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Workflow Configuration

Discussion Details

We are experiencing a GitHub Actions issue in the private repository mindos-dev/fire-hydraulic-engine.

The expected workflow is .github/workflows/mcp-ci.yml, workflow name MCP CI, with job protocol-and-security.

Current matching push and pull_request events create runs, but the runs immediately fail with:

conclusion=startup_failure
jobs=0
no runner assigned
no job logs
no tests executed
a synthetic deleted BuildFailed workflow appears instead of the active MCP CI workflow

Affected runs:

35943241174
35943255744
35943885546
35943888611

Synthetic workflow:

ID 357388544
path BuildFailed
state deleted

Real workflow:

ID 356343800
name MCP CI
state active

Last known good runs:

34678663913
34678847928

We performed a control experiment in commit 52bc378f645c3aa8a5376390b8d2f95fd763ec2a, changing only workflow triggers. The failure signature remained exactly the same: startup_failure, BuildFailed, jobs=0.

Evidence is consistent with a GitHub-side workflow registration/orchestration failure before job construction.

Could GitHub please investigate the synthetic BuildFailed workflow, workflow registry state, and the affected check suites?

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[Nanodagr8]

I am experiencing the same failure in my private repository, Nanodagr8/NANO-STUDIO.

GitHub Actions runs fail before creating any jobs, with the startup_failure / BuildFailed signature. The Jobs API returns zero jobs, and no step logs are available.

Affected runs:

• Main branch, run #70: https://github.com/Nanodagr8/NANO-STUDIO/actions/runs/38048605328
• Minimal control workflow: https://github.com/Nanodagr8/NANO-STUDIO/actions/runs/37457082558
• Additional affected run: https://github.com/Nanodagr8/NANO-STUDIO/actions/runs/38048124424

The workflow and application checks pass locally, including 161 passing Node tests. We corrected the Gitleaks and Semgrep configuration issues, but the hosted failure persists before job creation.

I opened repository issue #20 to track the incident: https://github.com/Nanodagr8/NANO-STUDIO/issues/20

GitHub Support ticket #4843517 was closed because only self-service support resources are available to my account. GitHub Status reports all systems operational, but these runs still fail before a job is created.

Has anyone identified a reliable diagnosis or workaround for this specific zero-job startup failure? I would appreciate guidance on checking workflow registration, repository Actions settings, usage limits, and pre-job workflow evaluation without making destructive repository changes.